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Bahamas still defending new immigration policy

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 November 2014, 22:06 by GxMedia

The Bahamas’ Foreign Minister prepares to brief the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on his country’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Addressing the House of Assembly on Wednesday, he continued to fend off local and overseas attacks of the policy that has see mainly Haitians being rounded up, detained and deported.

In an apparent response to organisations like Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Cetre for Justice and Human Rights, Mr Mitchell insisted that his government was acting within the law.

The Bahamas has so far sent back 3,000 aliens to the their home countries for this year.

In apparent reference to Haitian boat people, he said no government could tolerate numerous vessel loads of persons turning up on its shores with no visas, no jobs or means to support themselves.

The new policy introduced on November 1 requires all non-Bahamians to have passports and proof that they are permitted to live and work on that archipelago.